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Nava
Physical appearance “It’s a bug as big as my arm!” - Adam Arés The nava grub is the larval stage of the nava insect, originating on the planet Gao, pretty similar to several varieties of larvae on earth. Like Earth flies, the majority of adult nava are flying insects, the exception being fertilized females, which stay in larval or grub form. The most notable difference between Earth larvae and nava larvae, is the sheer size of the nava grub. While they start out as tiny larvae, smaller in size than your common housefly larvae, the fertilized females reach sizes of up to 30+ centimeters (or about the length of a human forearm) and a mass of around 12kg/26.5lbs. In part to their shape and drab brown color, they have been, on occasion, described as “resembling a giant turd.” Reproduction & farming The nava grub is a parasitic life-form, and reproduces through a process called matriphagy. In short this means that the mother consumes massive amounts of nutrients and quickly gains in mass and size. Offspring of the nava then gestates inside the mother, after which they proceed to eat their way out, consuming the mother in the process. This ensures the offspring early-life nutrition and protection from the elements, two factors that are a risk to new-born life on a colder planet like Gao. Domesticating and farming the nava has been part of Gaoian culture for as long as anyone can remember. Harvesting the nava at the right time is the key to farming them. Ideally a nava grub is harvested at its biggest possible size, but before nucleation of the larva. Timing it right ensure the most nutritious ‘meat’ in the largest quantities. Failing to harvest the nava before nucleation results in a normal reproductive cycle which means the ‘meat’ is no longer usable. In addition to the tricky timing of the harvest, the nava ‘meat,’ once harvested, spoils at an alarming rate. However, thanks to the modern-day invention of the stasis fridge, this is mainly a problem of the past. Preparation "It’s gotta be on the little sticks" - Daar of clan Stoneback Nava ‘meat’ is a staple of Gaoian cuisine, and is processed, served and cooked in a large variety of ways. Like most insect-based foodstuffs, it’s high in protein and tastes somewhat ‘nutty.’ In addition to the ‘meat,’ the small nava larvae are a popular snack food, at least when dry-roasted. Common ways of serving nava ‘meat’: * In cutlets, raw or cooked, as a part of a complete meal * Roasted cutlets on little sticks, seasoned with sooba paste, similar to chicken-teriyaki sticks on Earth. * Ground into a versatile paste, which in turn gets used in a large variety of dishes. Kobe's, an Asian/Gaoian fusion-restaurant in Folctha, uses a large variety of Gaoian foodstuffs, but nava is not one of them. Despite the popularity and omnipresence of nava in Gaoian cuisine, this choice was made to accommodate human diners. Category:Species Category:Non-sapients Category:Gaoians Category:Food and drink